Comic Book Review - 2000 AD Prog 2275

Rob reviews 2000 AD Prog 2275...

Borag Thungg! Another week has passed which means it's time to delve into this week's offering of 2000 AD goodness! 

With last week's departure of the brilliant third series of Proteus Vex, there's an opening in the schedule. Fear not as this has been replaced by another Intestinauts tale by Arthur Wyatt and Pye Parr. 

Judge Dredd: The Citadel - Part 6

Dredd and his rag-tag group have reached the Citadel; an old conference hub that's been converted into a Sov Intelligence torture centre. Without wasting too much time Dredd tasks the Cadets to take out the guards and get inside. 

With certain death on the line, it falls to Dredd to give his ailing squad a serious pep talk. Not only does this paint Dredd as an absolute badass, but it also highlights just how dangerous the mission is going to be. 

It's another great showing from John Wagner and the team. Everything effortlessly rolls in this issue as Wagner allows Dan Cornwell and Dylan Teague to do their thing. Cornwell's art does a lot of the talking as we see Dredd and his team infiltrate the Citadel. The team's tactical stealth action has a Vietnam feeling as Teague bathes everything within an incredible rain-soaked backdrop. 

Kingmaker: Falls The Shadow - Part 12 (Final Part)

Book three of Ian Edgington and Leigh Gallagher's sci-fi fantasy heads to a close this week. With Crixus shutting off the Thorn machines, the lack of obedience has attracted the attention of someone higher up the chain. Meanwhile, as a few Thorn soldiers harass a local village, they encounter the resurrected Ichnar.

Things don't look great as Gallagher gives quite an imposing final shot to close out this issue. With a much larger threat on the horizon, and with Ichnar back on the scene, Edgington has a lot of tools at his disposal for 'The Twilight Kingdom' 

Intestinauts: The Bowel Impactors - Part 1

The small and mighty Intestinauts of Intestolab are back doing what they do best. Having successfully extracted from their latest mission, the crew await within the sewers for their latest data upload. However, when this doesn't come they're up sh** creek without a paddle. 

Deciding to head to another upload zone, the crew have to deal with a local infestation of Nematodes and a giant Fatberg. But they're not the only Intestinauts operating in the sewers as a second brand lurks!.

Intestinauts works well as a series of self-contained stories. Its premise is very interesting as Arthur Wyatt introduces the crazy situations that these bots get into. Now with the squad essentially M.I.A. and a rival brand on the scene, does this point to corporate sabotage? 

As normal Pye Parr packs each scene with vast amounts of detail. It's all so alien as we delve into this microscopic world, of bacteria and other nasties. 

Fiends of the Eastern Front: 1963 - Part 3 

We're back in Berlin as Doctor Glahn meets with his contact. Things take a turn for the worse as Glahn and the contact aren't exactly human. After a brief fight, Galhn reveals himself as a disguised Major Armand D'Hubert, and that's when this one gets interesting. 

Meanwhile, Aquinas Salt continues his search and comes into contact with something else entirely. 

I've got no idea what's going on in '1963' but the fusion of a cold war spy thriller and mythical beings is a great mix. Naturally, Tiernen Trevallion's work continues to amaze as the artist gives another batch of well-crafted horror.

Brink: Mercury Retrograde - Part 6

Deep in the bowls of Ludmilla Habitat and Leeden pleads his case to the Sect. He's brought with him whispers directly from the Exhalation on Sophia which makes him a pretty big player in Abnett's grand scheme. 

Meanwhile, Maslow heads off to speak to an old acquaintance to further his investigation. As Maslow pushes the local Union foreman for more information, we start to see the other side of Brink's death. 

But when the mere mention of "whispers" turns the air sour, Maslow soon finds himself in danger. 

So far 'Mercury Retrograde' has been a great addition to the wider Brink mythos. Having the shit in the narrative allows Abnett to re-explore past events to then expand on them. Much like Abnett's other work, Brink is a bit of a slow burner. Instead of relying on flashy action scenes, we get a very character-driven narrative that pulls you into the wider conspiracy.

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